The present invention relates to a joining component for axial joining to a workpiece, having a base body composed of thermoplastic material which has a holding section and a flange section, with a joining surface being formed on the flange section and having a metal section which can be heated inductively.
The invention also relates to a method for production of such a joining component.
In general, the present invention relates to the field of joining of joining components, such as attachment elements, to workpieces, such as bodywork components. In this case, an attachment element such as this generally has two functional sections, firstly the flange section by means of which the connection to the workpiece can be produced. Secondly, the joining component has a holding section which, for example, may be in the form of an attachment shaft in order to fix further attachment components to it, such as plastic clips. The clips may be designed to fix components such as lines, cable runs etc. On the other hand, a holding section such as this may also have different shapes, for example a hollow-cylindrical shape.
The document DE 10 2006 059 337 A1 discloses a method for connection of parts composed of thermoplastic material, with a joining component in the form of a holder being joined to a vehicle bumper bar composed of plastic. A connection element which has apertures, projections and/or depressions is arranged between those surfaces of the parts which are to be connected to one another, with the connection element being designed to be heated when a varying magnetic field is applied. This results in the thermoplastic material being fused onto the surfaces. When the molten material solidifies, this results in a connection at least between the surfaces and the connection element, and thus in a connection between the parts via the connection element. The connection element can be joined in advance to one of the parts to be connected.
One problem in the known method mentioned above is that the holder and the metallic connection element must in general be produced separately. The connection to the workpiece, such as the vehicle bumper bar, is therefore labour-intensive, since the connection element must be placed between them on each occasion. The alternative approach, of connecting the connection element to one of the components in advance, is likewise labour-intensive, since a further process step is required.
The document U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,222 discloses a further attachment element which comprises a shaft section and a conductive flange section, with a hot-meltable material being applied to the lower face of the conductive flange section. The attachment force which can generally be achieved is not very high with this joining component.